Hey everyone – Alex Shaw giving a report here on MBU FC’s last two games and its interesting turn of events. On Saturday 31^st October we played a team of big Irishman called ULA. We had already lost 3 games in a row so there was a lot of tension built up already for this game. We really needed a win. At first we started off OK with good possession of the ball and early attacks but after a swift counter they scored giving them an early lead. An all too prevalent formula since we have never had the lead before in previous games. Immediately this changed the mood of the players as we tried desperately to gain a goal back. This came to no avail as they scored again which really created a lot of stress and tension in the team as we thought in our heads “We’re gonna lose again!”. Our team members were really starting to get agitated with the other team and with each other. As the game went on we got worse and worse, our heads started bobbing down and we become more disunited.  By half time the score line was 3-0.

At half time no one really knew what to say. The performance was bad, and we felt like crap. Steven tried to give us a talk to get our heads up but in that situation not much could change it. The second half was quite a massacre. We were fighting with each other, there was no teamwork. This resulted in one of the players storming off the field leaving the whole team in disarray. At the end of the game we managed to pull ourselves together a bit more and score a goal leaving the score line at 7-1 by full-time. Quite a thrashing. The end was really emotional for the team. Many people released a lot of inner frustrations and pains with some even saying they don’t want to play for this team any more. I felt this couldn’t be it, we’ve got to keep going.

There is a saying that when you hit rock bottom the only way is up. We could see the weakness in our team from the last game – we needed to become more of a “team”. So the Friday before the next game we had a movie night together in LG; 300 - oww yea. So Saturday 7^th November we had our first cup game against a team called SSS FC. That day the team felt so much more relaxed, as if we had nothing to lose. The game started and within a few minutes Toby scored the first goal. We had never been in the lead before. Suddenly the whole team got uplifted and was on fire. Everyone was playing with smiles on their faces as quickly the score line became 6-0.

Even we hadn’t been trashed this badly before. This was a better result than we could have hoped for. At half time instead of seeing downed faces, you saw a team of joy and energy. There was no need for a talk this time we just had to keep playing the way we were.

In the second half we became more complacent and so it wasn’t a massacre in the second half. The game ended with a score line of 8-3.VICTORY!! We had won our first game. Afterwards we all want to McDonald’s and had a nice victory meal. Through really fighting through we could finally achieve a great victory. Hopefully from here we can keep going up.

(Authored by Michael Rawlence)

On a rainy Saturday morning, 24th October, MBU gathered at their home grounds in Catford for their third match of the league against Battersea Alexandra. Before kick off there was a chance for some practice. Steven, the team’s manager focused on getting some corner practice. We had some great shooting, and the defenders proved that they were a force to be reckoned with as well as Ollie Davies showing some talent in goal.

The match itself was a good challenge for MBU: Battersea Alexandra had proved themselves earlier in the league that they were a formidable team winning one of their matches 7-0. Going in with an aggressive 3:4:4 formation, we wanted to show them we meant business from the beginning. We had a one man advantage from kick off since they had a late team-mate. We used this to our advantage by keeping up the strong offensive and maintaining possession the majority of the time. A very near goal by Su-Yang Klotz got everyone on the edge of their metaphorical seats, however it landed just wide of the goal, sending off a sharp intake of breath all across the pitch. Although we managed several shots on target, they managed to sneak a run past our defenders and gained a one goal advantage. At this point their last man showed up, making their 11th man. The rest of the first half had some very good passing and control of the ball from both sides but neither was able to score.

An energetic half time talk from Steven, encouraged the team to communicate more, keep some width with the formation and get some shots in. ‘You’re too nice too take the shot’ He said, ‘For God’s sake get some glory’.

The second half presented us with many opportunities, we continued our persistent offensive and managed several shots, but no cigar. Then an injury: One of their players twisted his knee while running and remained unable to continue playing. ‘Surely’, we thought, ‘This will be the chance we need’. But in our eagerness to finally bag a goal, we left our defences sloppy and to our great frustration we fell another goal behind. Not giving up hope, we continued to push forward. Not long after, striker, Sean Greaves, managed to dodge through the competition and give the ball a convincing wallop towards the goal; the keeper got a finger on it and a rebound off the post gave another chance, and then another, finally the third shot followed up by Alex Shaw was cleared from the line by a quick manoeuvre from the other side’s defence.

After a long and exasperating match, we finally conceded a 2:0 defeat, but it was valuable experience for the still rather green footballers of MBU. ‘We learned a lot from it’ said midfielder Toby Suda. Overall, we certainly played some good football and with a little bit of luck, we could win a lot of the upcoming games we have left this season.

MBU slumped to their second successive defeat of the season against Crossworld FC – opposition whose name reflects the international makeup of its players – by a margin of 7 goals to 4.

The lads had hoped to bounce back from defeat a fortnight ago to the league leaders, Oasis United, and were hoping that Crossworld, who were just a few places above MBU in the league table, would be easier opposition.

After a bright start, MBU found themselves 3-0 down, one of the goals coming from the penalty spot after Mark Hanna was judged to have handballed within the penalty area. Fortunes turned as a corner from Toby Suda arrived at Matthew Huish who, with the help of the home team defenders, bundled the ball over the keeper and into the back of the net for a goal back. Just before half-time, Seijin Thomas kept his cool after some beautiful dribbling to slot in a second goal.

In the second half, Mark Hanna was again harshly penalised for a handball which seemed to be outside the penalty area, but the referee (who was very balanced throughout the game) pointed to the spot. With the penalty converted, a few more goals were conceded, including an unfortunate own goal by Alex Fortune, who had otherwise defended valiantly in the rest of the game. Things were looking embarrassing at 7-2.

After a few substitutions, however, MBU sought to recover some pride. Crossworld were reduced to ten men after a defender used his arm to block a Sean Greaves strike on the goal-line. Toby Suda converted the penalty. Colin Brouard scored the final goal of the game after a period of fluid movement, celebrating his goal by revealing a T-shirt reading “I belong to Rev. Moon”. Seijin provided the assist.

While the team was understandably disappointed at the final whistle, there’s confidence in the capacity to improve. After sharpening basic skills and practicing tactics in the regular training sessions, MBU will continue to improve.

One year ago, Jenson Button had no driving future after his Honda team were quitting Formula One as a result of the global financial crisis. Despite the enormous setbacks, he has now won the Formula One Racing World Championship, with his Brawn team winning the constructor’s championship. The lesson here is that even with an impossible outlook, with enough faith, determination and some good fortune, victory is not impossible.

The season has finally started for the Mind & Body United Football Club (MBUFC). After an exciting summer, including the Peace Cup tournament in Spain and another football tournament in Korea, football has finally come home to the UK. The MBU players had been meeting once a week for training since the summer. In anticipation of their first game, however, there were two training sessions in the final week of preparation.

During the final training session, visitors to Hyde Park would have been greeted by the sight of ten young men running around the park led by the smaller, more feminine frame of Susie, the wife of team coach, Steven. While she was afraid that her pace wasn’t fast enough for the brothers, most of them struggled to keep up with her! After some fitness exercise and training drills, the squad played a small game until the light became too dim. The team then went to the holy ground to pray, offering the season to Heavenly Father and promising to bring victory on the field, as well as victory in attitude & heart.

On Saturday 3rd October, MBUFC played their first competitive match within the 11-a-side Weekend League Saturday AM Premier Division. The team they faced, who are currently 2nd in the league, was Oasis United.

In the dressing room before the match, team coach Steven delivered an inspiring speech, followed by a prayer from team captain Sean Greaves and 3 cheers of eog-mansei. While this all helped to establish a confident and excited mood, the team kept their feet on the ground in terms of expectations. This would be the team’s first trial, testing the standard of the league and giving MBU an impression of what to expect in the next 23 games of the league’s season.

The game was of fast pace throughout, so MBU had to adapt quickly and gel as a team. Simon Cooper received an early injury and had to be replaced by Takao Kobayashi. The defence held strongly for most of the half, but a well-worked goal and a lob that beat the keeper towards the end of the half meant that the half-time score was 0-2.

Despite holding heads high in preparation for a determined fight-back, the team suffered disaster when they conceded a goal early in the second half. Nevertheless, the team was playing more fluid football. The opposition strikers were struggling to beat the offside trap and the team was using Alex Shaw on the left wing, an area neglected during the first half. This paid off as Alex played his part, together with Toby Suda, in setting up Su-Yang Klotz for scoring a goal for MBU. After creating space for himself on the left and drawing the keeper off his line, Su-Yang executed a sublimely placed strike into the top right of the goal.
MBU maintained a high spirit. The referee appreciated this, penalising the opposition for their aggressive attitude. (It must be noted most of this aggression was directed at themselves!) A direct free kick was awarded to MBU right outside the opposition penalty area. Toby Suda struck to the right of the wall and scored again, leaving the score at 2-3.

Oasis United were rattled and held their lead nervously. Just before the final whistle, however, Oasis scored another lucky goal. The final score was 2-4.

Despite a loss on the day, the team felt victorious about their attitude during the game. Although there’s a lot of room for improvement, there were a lot of positives to take from the game and optimism that as the season progresses, the team will get better and better.

Special mention must go to Colin Brouard for his bravery in playing most of the match as goalkeeper, a position he never normally plays. While he was unlucky with a couple of fluky goals, he rose to the occasion by vociferously communicating with the defence and making some fine, finger-tip saves.

PLAYED: C. Brouard, T. Hashimoto, S. Cooper (T. Kobayashi, H. Song), M. Huish, A. Fortune, A. Shaw, S. Greaves, S. Klotz, D. Fortune (S. Song), T. Suda

GOALS: S. Klotz, T. Suda

Nigel Reo-Coker lifts that Peace Cup trophy high above his head

Villans Make Juventus Pay The Penalty To Win Peace Cup 2009

Aston Villa won 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out to hoist the prestigious exhibition tournament cup in Spain. Aston Villa were energetic and Juventus will rue missing a whole host of chances in regulation time, as the English side managed to win the Peace Cup 2009 edition in a penalty shoot-out.

Winger Ashley Young had the first good opportunity of the match, cutting inside past Jonathan Zebina, but his powerful effort was straight at Gianluigi Buffon.

Indeed, while Juventus were being fairly patient in attack, Aston Villa were using the wings to attack, forcing the Bianconeri goalkeeper to make a number of stops from shots from a tight angle.

Sebastian Giovinco and Mauro Camoranesi were causing the Villans defense problems with their crossing and through balls, but Vincenzo Iaquinta missed a golden chance when he could not direct his header on target after thirty minutes.

John Carew had been largely anonymous, but his powerfully hit free-kick was turned around the post by Buffon. Juventus responded, but Iaquinta spurned yet another chance from his head after a set-piece by the ‘Atomic Ant.’ …. See more of this report in Goal.com. See report in Aston Villa’s official website

L to R: Luciano Alonso Alonso, Minister of Tourism, Trade and Sports with the Andalusian Government, True Parents, Rev. Chun Hwan Kwak, chairman of the Peace Cup organising committee

The teams come on for the final match

tricky move...

So for the past month we have been having organised football every 2 weeks and it has been a very good experience for many people who have come. Reason why? Football is a sport where you can have the likes of Theo Walcott (20 years old) & Alumania (32 years old) play on the same team and have a generally good time together without the age gap interfering with the game.

It has been great so far and we have had some adults as well as 14 year olds come and join. Its kind of a way to bridge the gap and all have fun doing it. We are also taking this opportunity to getting people warmed up to the idea of a Community football team entering a Sunday League next season.

Our next meeting is on the 13th of June at Catford Power league, London, followed by another session on the 27th of June in Kennington Park, South London. Please feel free to come and bring friends. We usually start at 13:00 and punctuality is of utmost importance. The participation fee is also 3 pounds.

For  more infor contact Chigo at chigozie22@hotmail.com

“so God blessed the 7th day, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation, by playing football”

Some of you will recognise that particular verse from genesis.
Many of us gathered in Catford to honor that day by holding a kick-around to escape the world and indulge ourselves in football’s stress reliving properties. Around 30 football junkies turned up that afternoon and proceeded to battle it out on the verdant, lush, albeit plastic grass as part of one of the four teams we divided into that day.

I’m sure that those who were there will agree with me when I say that the skill on display was exceptional, dotted with frequent doses of genius, as players like Josh and Steven, to highlight just a couple, seemed to pick prodigious from the aether.

How refreshing it is to see excellence on the pitch without the seemingly obligatory rolling of the floor, verbal squalor and acting so tragically bad, that it wouldn’t appear out of place in your average Harry potter film.

What we played that day was football in it’s purest and happiest form. The only sad faces were those that came the next morning when a lot of us realised that out legs had lost the ability to feel anything other than cramp induced pain. Not bad for a free day out.

Since people had so much fun last time, Chigo decided to organise another football trip at the same place.It will be few weeks later on the 30th May since us unfit people need to time to recover. Please bring £3 just in case we have to pay for the space.
Those with exams, study hard to make up for a lost afternoon, and those with work, try to pretend to be sick take the day off.

~ollie~

For more info, check out this Facebook Invite